Alex Smith, national chair of the College Republican National Committee.

College Republicans to GOP: Drop Marriage Opposition If You Want Our Vote

By Sunnivie Brydum

Originally published on Advocate.com June 03 2013 7:51 PM ET

Congressional Republicans must give up their slavish devotion to opposing marriage equality if they hope to once again attract younger voters, the nation's leading group for conservative college students said today in a scathing report.

After gathering information via extensive polling and focus groups, the College Republican National Committee today released what Politico called a "postmortem," a 95-page manifesto on the substantial ideological shifts the party needs to make if it hopes to gain the favor of the next generation.

The report, titled "Grand Old Party for a Brand New Generation," critiques the party's nearly singular focus on cutting taxes and reducing the influence of "big government," along with individual candidates' uncanny ability to alienate wide swaths of voters with polarizing rhetoric.

When asked to select individual words describing the GOP, more than 1,600 undecided voters between the ages of 18-29 chose words like "racist," "closed-minded," and "old-fashioned."

The report was also highly critical of the party's staunch opposition to marriage equality, which young people overwhelmingly support. "We will face serious difficulty so long as the issue of gay marriage remains on the table," reads Politico's excerpt of the report.

The report also takes the GOP to task for alienating Latino voters, who "tend to think the GOP couldn't care less about them," and for the often offensive "outrageous statements made by errant Republican voices."